Friends and Lovers
by Guby-san
Summary: It is his virgin time, as an ANBU, to ever feel that beaten up. Neji then considers that he has many things yet to be done. He should appreciate his teammate and his brethren s far more, and that one girl that he rejected back when they had the first test to become jounin.


_I don't own this; I just own the parallel world where this actually happens._

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><p><strong><em>Friends and Lovers<em>**

Neji's clothes stick to his bloody body like a second skin, and that feels wretched and awful. He has been examining his circumstances for the past three minutes, and he has reached the conclusion that he does not have that much time alive under those conditions. Not only his chakra levels are depleted, but he also feels that he has more than ten major broken bones. In fact, if he moves the slightest, he can feel one of his ribs pocking out of his body.

It is his virgin time, as an ANBU, to ever feel that beaten up. Neji then considers that he has many things yet to be done. He should have appreciated his teammates far more and his brethren, and that one girl that he rejected back when they had the first test to become jounin.

However, when realism was already burying him, his body is carefully lifted up. By the corner of his eyes that were slowly closing because of exhaustion, the person looks like a falcon angel. He passes out, and the last thought that crosses his mind is that he has never been in love.

* * *

><p>He wakes up with the smell of freshly cut lavenders and jasmines. He sees her, unmasked, and he feels some sort of simple gratitude as the Yamanaka heir treats his wounds so carefully, so tenderly… He smiles because his rib is back in its place.<p>

"Oh, so you are awake. I can't believe the stress you made me go through Neji… You are supposed to be the untouchable prodigy, and I just saved your ass by mere luck! I cured you with chakra I did not even know I had! You are supposed to retreat when you…"

He feels his eyes closing.

"Thanks…" He says as he drifts back to sleep.

Three day later, they leave their shelter, and to each its own. They both wear their respective ANBU mask. Neji goes back to Konoha, for his mission has been successfully accomplished. He is solemnly surprised when he figures out that the beautiful woman put her mission on hiatus when she detected his chakra levels slowly disappearing. Neji is both surprised and proud that she is actually as good as they can be.

He leaves her out of his report to the Hokage. Mainly so she does not get in trouble when she comes back to Konoha later than expected, and because he wants to leave their 'tryst' as a secret between them.

* * *

><p>That was the beginning of their odd friendship. Ino tends to be a loud individual, but when she is with Neji, tones down her extrovert qualities. Neji does the same. He talks less icy, and actually engages in casual conversations more than he did before.<p>

Once in a while he actually looks like he is smiling.

Everyone in Konoha deems it completely bizarre. The frozen prodigy plus the warm lily, and no matter what, there is no mathematical equation that can properly solve them.

Nevertheless, Chouji and Shikamaru, see it as completely normal. They are even happier because Ino seems to be doing better off. The longhaired man seems to be a great influence.

The Hyuga clan, TenTen and Lee seem to think that the friendship has proven to be essential for Neji. He is more open and if you look hard enough you can notice his glowing eyes. The longhaired woman seems to also be a great influence.

—

She is tending to sunflowers and lilies when Neji enters the Flower shop.

"Let's go Ino," he says.

They both exit the flowery place. She is walking behind him because she has this habit of staring at his back (Neji notices of course, but he just decides to issue that later.) Tired of walking alone, he sighs as he stops so she can catch up.

She smiles at him, and hurries to links their arms. Neji is not bothered by it (It is also another thing he has to issue, but really he just has not been bothered by it).

They are not dating, she just wants to makes a clear statement to the fan girls that droll for the Hyuga prodigy.

'_He is mine'_

They glare at her as they accept they cannot compete against the beautiful kunoichi, because she is the prettiest of them all.

But she just knows that claiming a territory is not the same as the territory being yours. That saddens her because there is no way their relationship can escalate to something more.

* * *

><p>It feels weird for Neji when he finally starts worrying when he should not. After all, she is the famous falcon masked ANBU. Although her identity is not disclosed to the public and even to the rest of the ANBU members, she is known for having lots of missions almost all the time in uncertain lands. Her success rate is very high, and so are her mission categories.<p>

One day he feels that he cannot get rid of a nasty flavor and an acidic feeling growing from his stomach. _'Will she be fine? What if she comes back harmed? What is she does not come back? What if she gets hurt like I did?' _

All those thoughts are making him crazy and restless. One day, tired of his own mind and his quite creative imagination, Neji tells Ino about his preoccupations.

"Neji, if I did not know you better, I would say little old you is in love with little old me! Am I right? " She laughs nervously. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

For Neji, something finally clicks. Because, really, love makes sense.

"What if I _am_?"

She is shocked and suddenly blushes at the indirect answer. She gets closer to Neji, smiling because seriously answering a question with a question is so Neji like.

She puts her arms on his shoulders in a loose attempt to hug him and she kisses him chastely. She gives him enough space to reject her, but he only gets closer and kisses her back.

Because truth to be told, Ino has been in love with him for a long time already.

Neji, who believed his feelings were not akin to love, now thinks that if this is not love then he will never know how it feels like.

There is a tacit answering lingering between them, and it is louder than the explosion of an active volcano.

* * *

><p>She arrives to the Konoha gates, wearing her falcon mask and some bloody clothes. She looks mad, and her entire team seems to have been scolded real time. Neji wants to get close to her because he sees her in that state and he is worried. He cannot do that, however, because it is against ANBU recognition rules.<p>

So Neji decides to wait at her apartment, and he does not like waiting at all.

When Ino opens the door to her house one hour after her arrival, she is not that surprised to see him there.

"Yamanaka…"

"Oh please Neji spare me the reprimand. I have been listening to your rambles about how I should take care of myself and how I should be careful from the Hokage tower." She answers tiredly "That is seven miles away!"

"But Ino…"

She just hugs him, and kisses him like there is no tomorrow. "It was a two months mission. I don't know about you, but I really missed you." She then kisses his neck, hinting other interests.

He kisses her. He can spare her for tonight.

Tomorrow, he will make sure she understands what being careful means.

* * *

><p>"What did they say?" she fidgets as she asks.<p>

"They do not see a problem with it, but…"

"But?"

"They feel that you should cut the number of missions you do as ANBU."

"How did they even —"

"Tattoo. They are quite observant. They said that too many missions would endanger the possibilities of consummating our marriage and having children." He responds.

"Neji I can assure you there will be no problems with the first one," she whispers as she hugs him.

"Ino," He bits his lip.

"I know, I know. We are in public and this is not proper. The Hyugas are so uptight though, I see no problem with missions,"

"The Yamanakas also agreed with the verdict. It seems your father wants some grandsons," he smirks.

—

Ino decides to cut down the number of missions she does, as an ANBU officer and focuses primarily in T&I, because she feels is necessary to consolidate her future position as an interrogator. (She does not want to admit it, but she also did it so she could see Neji more often).

They had the approval of their clan heads, but it was not like they were officially married or anything. One day, Ino is just washing the dishes when Neji hugs her from behind and whispers to her right ear if she wants to marry him.

She does not respond immediately, she just freezes in the spot and Neji is also nervous. Until, of course, he hears faintly that she is crying.

* * *

><p>Neji and Ino are the first ones in their generation to get married, and it comes as a great surprise for the civilians, but not so much to the rest of the shinobis that already saw that coming.<p>

They wanted their marriage to be celebrated quietly, but being part of two different clans soon-to-be-united made their desire for privacy into a huge soiree of sorts.

The plans for their marriage were pretty problematic. Inoichi wants them to get married in the Yamanaka territory. Hiashi is demanding them to get married in the Hyuga compound. The Hokage wants the heads of the clan to just calm down.

A that point, Neji and Ino are not bothered at all. They just want to be together, have their own house and wake up to the sight of each other.

Yes, being in love (and deeply so) is an exhilarating feeling.

Clan members and friends are all invited. Ino makes sure that her flower decorations embellish everywhere.

* * *

><p>As ninjas, they really cannot afford to be together in a peaceful matter for more than a couple days. Today is a lucky day.<p>

Nestled on his chest, she can feel his heart beating tranquilly, slowly and steadily.

Just being there, close to each other, makes them feel that the rest of the world does not exist.

"You know," she started.

"…Yes,"

"I feel like having kids."

She almost starts laughing when she notices the obvious change of heartbeat rate when she mutters those simple words. It is even funnier when the words he speaks still keep that essence of his icy demeanor.

"You told me you didn't want to," he responded.

"But you want kids,"

"Yes but that's beyond the —"

"I want to make you happy."

"You make me happy already."

She blushes to the umpteenth scale of red. She raises her head from her comfortable place and lingers close to his mouth…so close to kiss him.

"So do you," she gets closer to his lips. "And I want to have something that will connect the both of us forever" she kisses him softly, and he cannot help but smile. "It also would make this place brighter, with a new generation of beautiful Shinobis. Because goddamit Neji if I am having kids, it's not going to be just one."

Neji just laughs, and starts kissing her.

"Ino…"

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

* * *

><p><em>This is my first Neji and Ino pairing, but certainly won't be the last. Originally this was written for Ino week on tumblr. I just read today in free time at school and thought 'hey this has potential, you can actually work it out a bit more'.<em>

_So yes, currently I am working in College applications so my other FF will not be updated until I make an essay of my liking._

_I am crying tho. Why is it so hard to talk about yourself when you can like write 2k of fiction?_

_Anyways, please R make me happy and give me advice in college applications OTL haha_


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